Strong and Courageous

by Daniel Gibbs

  “General Shriver, I am ordering you to arrest the deputy prime minister,” Fitzroy yelled angrily.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t obey your order as I don’t find it lawful. The deputy prime minister is right. This must stop. My men and women are dying by the hundreds to defend this complex in a hopeless defense. We’ll soon be overrun. I’m going to act to save as many lives as we can. The sisters have promised to treat anyone who surrenders with dignity, according to the Terran Coalition rules of warfare. Please put your weapon down and put your hands in the air.”

  “Oh, screw all of you,” Fitzroy replied as she put the gun under her chin.

  “No, Colleen!” Attwood shouted at the top of his lungs as she pulled the trigger. He closed his eyes and turned away, not wanting to see what happened. When he looked again, she had collapsed in a heap, and there was a large blood stain on the wall, directly behind where she had been standing. He staggered over to where she lay and looked down at the body. “Damnit, Colleen, there was a better way.”

  Shriver walked up behind Attwood and put his hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got a job to do, Prime Minister,” he said. “There’s time to grieve later.”

  Attwood nodded as he stood up. “Do you have your command authorization codes on you?”

  “Yes, sir,” Shriver replied.

  Attwood stepped over Fitzroy’s body and behind the desk, accessing the computer terminal sitting atop it. He biometrically logged in to the primary system and selected the emergency override system for national emergencies. The system allowed the prime minister to communicate with any electronic device, computer, tablet, commlink, or vidlink on the planet and overrode any other communication in progress. After entering his credentials into the application, it prompted for a counter-authentication from a high-level military officer. “Please enter your authorization code, General,” Attwood said, gesturing to the screen.

  Shriver leaned over and typed in a long alpha-numeric string, and finished by pressing the enter key. A few seconds later, the system’s broadcast control screen popped up, and Attwood sat in the center of the field observed by the built-in camera on the monitor. He then pressed the button to begin transmitting.

  “My fellow citizens, this is acting Prime Minister Martin Attwood. I come to you this afternoon from our main governmental complex, which as most of you may know, is under siege by the same force that invaded our planet several days ago. This message is intended not only for our citizens but for the leaders of this force, the Little Sisters of Divine Recompense. The Monrovian National Guard is in an untenable situation. We are fighting a losing battle against a superior enemy, and an enemy, I am ashamed to say, is in the right. For the last nine months, our government has engaged in a campaign to rid our planet of people who profess a belief in a higher power. We have betrayed our ideals and became the monsters we left Earth to escape. I stand before you today, guilty as charged by the Little Sisters. At this point, there is only one logical course of action left to us, and that is unconditional surrender. I now call on all members of the Monrovian National Guard to cease fire and lay down your weapons. In exchange, I ask that the Little Sisters treat our prisoners with respect and dignity and cease all active combat actions. I also invite the leadership of their order, as well as the CDF personnel on our planet, to meet with me as soon as possible to discuss further terms. To any armed citizens that would continue to resist… I ask you also to lay down your arms. Further combat is futile, we will not win, and further loss of life beyond all of the souls that have already perished would be needlessly tragic.”

  Attwood closed his eyes for a moment, then resumed his monologue. “We must hold ourselves accountable for what has happened on this world. That collectively goes for all of us, and it starts with me. For now, stay in your homes and await further instructions. This is acting Prime Minister Martin Attwood, signing off.”

  Attwood flipped off the system, leaving the screen blank. Shriver looked down at him. “Now what, sir?”

  “Now, we wait. I would expect we’ll be hearing from the nuns quite soon.”

  35

  Calvin sent a burst of rifle fire down a corridor in the third level basement of the black site, felling another guard, of which there always seemed to be another jumping out to shoot at them. Where are they getting all this manpower? “Clear!” Maybe it’s because we keep stunning people and not putting them down for good.

  Simone and the group of nuns and civilians with them cautiously moved up, with Calvin taking point. They came to a four-way junction in the corridor that extended for dozens of meters in each direction. “According to the plans, this is where they keep the high-value targets,” Simone said, looking down one of the corridors.

  “Yeah, but there are dozens of cells. We need to spread out and search them.”

  As he was talking, yet another group of Monrovian soldiers came into view at the end of one of the corridors, saw them, snapped up their rifles, and started shooting. Bullets slammed into the walls and ceiling around them, and a few shots hit Calvin dead center in his power armor, which thankfully blocked the impacts. He brought up his rifle and sighted down on the enemy, sending three-round bursts in their direction; after two soldiers dropped, the other three scurried out of the line of fire and kept up blindly shooting at them from the other side of a corner.

  Calvin gingerly touched his midsection, the pain of the hits getting the better of him. “I’m getting really tired of these guys.”

  Meanwhile, David could hear the sounds of combat from the room he was being “questioned” in. His ears perked up when he heard the unmistakable report of multiple CDF battle rifles. “Looks like your time is up,” he said to the interrogator.

  That barb got him another wave of pain searing through his body. “I think not, Colonel Cohen. You will be here with me for a long time. Oh, your friends might be trying to storm the building, but I welcome the attempt,” the interrogator said with a smile that made David’s skin crawl. “That way, I will have additional subjects to talk to. As I’ve told you, I do enjoy my work.”

  “You know, you’re one sick SOB,” David replied, his voice hoarse and broken. Again, pain swept through his body, causing him to shake and go into convulsions.

  “Now what can you tell me about the Lion of Judah and its propulsion system?”

  “It’s better than yours.” Despite knowing more pain was on the way, David was buoyed by the sounds of fighting and chose to believe that rescue was at hand.

  “In ways, I admire you, Colonel Cohen,” the interrogator said. “You’ve proven to be very able to resist questioning, so far. But I promise you, I will continue to wear you down and crush your ability to fight me. Eventually, you’ll see the error of your ways and embrace the way of the League.”

  “I’d rather die.”

  “I’ll be happy to arrange that at a later time. For now, though, we’ll continue. You need to ask yourself… where is your so-called God now?” the man asked with a nasty grin.

  Suddenly, the door to the room blew off its hinges and fell to the ground, while smoke poured in. David saw the interrogator reach for his sidearm, but a three-round burst hit him center mass before it cleared the holster. The man slumped to the ground, moaning. Calvin and Simone appeared at David’s side, while another nun kicked the gun away from the fallen Leaguer.

  David coughed while he looked the interrogator in the eyes. “You’ll get to meet Him real soon.”

  Calvin shook David’s arm. “You okay, buddy?” Calvin asked.

  David nodded his head. “Still here,” he said while gasping for breath. “A bit sore too.”

  “Yeah, you look like a few miles of bad road. I think you need a vacation,” Calvin said with levity in his voice.

  “This is a pain chair,” Simone interjected, looking over the metal chair David was strapped in to, which was bolted to the floor.

  “I’ve heard of those,” Calvin replied, shaking his head. “I’ve also heard the agony
they cause is nearly unbearable.”

  “Yeah, I can attest to that. It feels like every part of your body is being ripped off,” David said while wheezing. “Think you guys could get me out of this thing?”

  Simone retrieved the controller from where it had fallen on the floor and examined the device. “I need the passphrase to unlock it,” she said and looked over at the fallen interrogator.

  “I’ll never help you,” he said before the question was asked, blood leaking out of his mouth. “I’d rather die.”

  “Screw this,” Calvin said, shoving Simone to one side and pulling out a laser cutter. “Stay real still, Colonel, I’ll have you out in no time.”

  “Try not to cut my arms off,” David said with a faint smile, trying to stay positive.

  Calvin knelt down and very carefully seared the metal bonds that held David in place with the laser; as it moved from arm to arm, then to his legs, the bonds fell away in short order.

  “Can you stand?” Calvin asked.

  “Maybe,” David replied, pushing off and trying to stand up. His first attempt failed, then he tried again and made it. He held on to the chair to keep his balance, as everything was wobbly. Taking a few seconds and steadying himself, he then stood back from the chair. “Not sure how far I can walk.”

  Calvin drew his sidearm and handed it to David. “I’m sure we’re going to run into some opposition on the way out. Though, if you’d like to finish things off in here, we can step out and let you take care of business.”

  David took the pistol in his right hand and let it fall to his side. I might get a momentary flush of triumph from shooting this man and watching him die, but I’ll remember it the rest of my life and know I did something monstrous. “No. No extra-judicial punishments today,” David replied, then glanced over at the interrogator.

  “Don’t have the balls to kill me, Colonel Cohen?” the man spat.

  David slowly staggered to where he lay, having to rely on Calvin helping him to walk as he did. “No. I’m not going to kill an unarmed man.”

  “Afraid God will punish you?”

  “No… I don’t want to fail my creator. He created us with the ability to determine right from wrong. Something might have gone screwy with the League’s ability to choose, but not mine.”

  “I can see it in your eyes, Colonel. You’d love nothing more than to kill me. You hate me.”

  David slowly knelt next to the Leaguer. “I don’t hate you. Above all, I pity you. Your entire life is dedicated to violence, torture, killing… you know nothing else. I fight because I have to, because our way of life is something worth defending. You fight because you’re programmed to. When you meet your maker in the next few minutes from those wounds, it’s very probable he’ll cast you out. To me, that’s a fate worse than death.”

  The interrogator’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “There is no God. Your victory here is meaningless, and the League will eventually triumph!”

  David shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  Simone walked over and knelt beside David; she held a medical diagnostic tool, which she used to scan the wounded man. Calvin snorted from behind them both. “He’s not worth your time, Sister. Let’s get out of here and head back to the shuttles. I just got word on the commlink we rescued two of the nuns. The third one didn’t make it, but we’ve recovered her body.”

  Simone glanced up at him. “None of us are worth God’s time, yet He continues to give it to us. Can we do any less to our fellow humans?”

  Calvin shook his head. “You’re a better person than I’ll ever be, Sister. I’ll guard the door, so I can resist the temptation to blow this guy’s brains out and call it a day.”

  “Your friend is hard,” the Leaguer said, coughing up blood. “I’m surprised to find a few of you that can be strong when required.”

  Simone finished with the device and stared into the Leaguer’s eyes. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can do for you. I don’t have the right tools to save your life, though I would in an instant if I could. What I can do is pray for your soul, so that before death, you might yet be saved. Would you bow your head with me?”

  The Leaguer rewarded her words by spitting in her face. “Never.” A few seconds later, his breathing slowed and became ragged, then stopped entirely.

  David stood up and steadied himself on the wall. “You did everything you could.”

  “Was it enough?”

  “It was by my judgment. But mine isn’t what counts in the end,” David said with a trace of a smile before doubling over coughing. “I hate to ask, but would you help me up, Sister?”

  Simone stood and reached down with her armored gauntlet, effortlessly helping him stand with the assist of her power armor. “No problem, Colonel. I can carry you out if you’d like.”

  “If it’s all the same, I’d like to try to walk out of here. If nothing else, I need to do it so I can say to myself that I triumphed in some way over this place.”

  Simone nodded her understanding. “I get it.” Together, with David limping along, they made it to the door before David looked back. “Let’s get out of here. Enough death for one day.”

  “Those who live by the sword…die by the sword,” Simone replied.

  “Amen to that,” Calvin replied. “Or in our case, die by TCMC battle rifle. Here, let me help too, Colonel. You stay between us; we’ll get out you out of here in no time.”

  “Thanks, Cal,” David said in reply, putting his other arm around Calvin’s power armor. The three of them made their way down the corridor back toward the elevator to the surface. I came so close to death here. But my friends came through for me again, one more time. I thank God for them.

  36

  David had insisted on being hauled into the shuttle’s cockpit despite his injuries. Flanked by Simone and the pilot of the craft, with Calvin taking a jump seat, his right leg flared in pain as the G-force from liftoff affected them. Glancing at Simone’s blood- and dirt-smeared face, he was moved to speak. “Sister, I must again thank you for saving me.”

  “We don’t leave our own behind,” Simone insisted. “There’s no way I was abandoning my sisters or you to be tortured by some godless Leaguer.”

  “Don’t go getting all soft on me,” Calvin said. “It’s hard enough to break in one fleet officer. I just didn’t want to have to do it again.”

  David rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I see through all that bluster, you know. For what it’s worth, I’d come back for you or anyone else that was captured, regardless of the cost.”

  Calvin pursed his lips together. “I know you would. In the end, we fight for the people next to us.”

  “Amen,” Simone interjected.

  “Where is the rest of your army?” David asked, trying to focus on something besides the horror of what he had endured the last thirty-six hours.

  “They’re attacking the main Monrovian government complex. The last I heard, we were carrying the day.”

  David let his head drop as another wave of pain swept over his body. His head felt like it was ringing inside of a bell, and he focused on just not crying out. “David, are you okay?” Simone asked him, her voice full of concern.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  The shuttle flight continued, and little was said; sometimes, David reflected, after intense combat, no one wanted to talk. There is something to just being thankful I’m still alive. Simone’s ever-chipper voice interrupted his quiet time. “Colonel, Mother Superior wants to talk to you.”

  “Could you put her on the speaker? I can’t do a headset at the moment,” David replied, forcing his eyes open as he glanced at Simone.

  “Of course,” Simone replied as she reached over and manipulated the communication controls. “I think we’re patched in now.”

  “Mother Superior, this is David Cohen. Can you hear me?” David rasped out.

  “Yes, I can hear you loud and clear. I’m so glad to hear your voice again. We’re all worried about you,” came the sound of
Sarno’s voice through the poor-quality speaker in the shuttle’s cockpit.

  “Thanks to the efforts of Sister Darzi and her team, the prisoners are safe and sound. Well, excepting the one that the Leaguers executed. The interrogator is dead, so unfortunately, we can’t put him on trial and then execute him properly,” David said, bitterness and hate swelling to the surface despite his attempts to suppress them. Any man that would kill an unarmed prisoner, especially a woman, doesn’t deserve to live, one side of him thought. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I shall repay, the other side thundered back. I have to learn better to let it go… it’s just so hard.

  “There has been a development here, Colonel Cohen. I need you to come to the government complex as soon as possible.”

  “With respect, Mother Superior, I don’t think I’m any good to you as a combatant right now. I can’t even walk.”

  “A few things have changed, child. The acting Monrovian prime minister has surrendered, along with their entire military. We’re mopping up the last diehard holdouts.”

  Relief, surprise, and shock coursed through David’s mind as his face morphed from a look of grim determination to his jaw dropping open. “That’s…incredible,” he stammered, not quite able to believe it.

  “It’s the will of God,” Sarno replied through the commlink. “I need you to join me in meeting with the acting PM. You are the ranking member of the Coalition Defense Force on site, and by extension, the closest thing to a representative of the Terran Coalition’s government.”

  Well, it sounds like a good a reason as any to divert. I can get medical attention later. “We’ll head that way now, Mother Superior.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.”

  “Do you have medical personnel on site, Mother Superior?” Simone interjected. “Colonel Cohen suffered a significant injury and needs treatment.”